Austin City Limits
It’s stressful to do a keynote! One feels so alone.
Better just to get raked over the coals by Brad Stone.
If he gets a journalistic scoop here, I will not be bitter.
I am @bingfish and he is @bradstone on twitter.
Whether you came here to learn to socialize or just do vacation,
I promise you life is better when you do Gamification.
Rock your company launch in this madness in this dither.
This week is like Farmville, just don’t let your energy wither!
Welcome to the Austin City Limits,
Where the weather is perfect, except when we’re in it;
People come for the music, the clubs and good times;
But we turn into “occupy Austin” because of the crowds and long lines.
Who needs local microbrews or border smuggled drugs?
We get high on life here, as we squat on the rugs.
In your everyday life, you may be famous or larger,
But here we beg for party invites, or an AC recharger.
Get a drink in your fist, this is no place to be shy,
There are 30,000 extroverts here at South By.
You can taste experimental music here, or experiments in Pork,
And get a “big ass burger” at a pub called the Roaring Fork.
This is the place to discover Path, Zaarly or Splunk.
And which of your colleagues is lucky when drunk.
Go see 3rd Eye Blind, if you’re in the “in” crowd,
But please don’t upload Stephan Jenkins to SoundCloud.
For gamers, Austin is way more than “hook em horns”,
It’s the city where Massively Multiplayer Gaming was born.
A hat tip to Richard And Robert Garriott, the original campers,
Who relocated Origin Systems and Ultima here from New Hampshire.
Get the best hotel room that you can afford,
Or call on AirBnb to find room and Flipboard.
This is the city where Lance Armstrong, Whole Foods and Dell are revered,
And your job is to live up to it’s slogan: Keep Austin Weird!
Bing Gordon, KPCB Partner